Barcelona

I thought I would do a blog of our travels because I actually have family and friends who are not on facebook:)

John, the kids and I took our first trip since moving to Scotland. We went to Barcelona. I LOVE Barcelona. Everyone says when you move to Scotland that you will love Spain for the sun, but we have been lucky since moving here with good weather. I love Barcelona for the culture and vibe of the city. I was amazed that most of the main attractions weren't built in the 1600's but late 1800's. 

Before our trips I research everything and know all the cool places to go and eat. This trip I did not do that and it did not serve us well. So never again will I not know about the city we are going. Little did we know that when they say Spain siestas...they really do and the neighborhoods shut down. Plus they eat at 1 for lunch and 9 for dinner. Thats a little hard with kids. We cant say every meal was amazing, but when you have kids can you always say that?! 

We stayed at EuroStars Las Ramblas. Very nice and clean hotel. Thank God! It was right on Las Ramblas which is a huge tourist destination and near the Old Town.  

  

This is a Museum that Gaudi built

At Park Guell...beautiful views

We got in late. Good thing the Spaniards eat late. At 11pm we went to a great Mediterranean/Spanish place in the Old Town called Los Caracoles. It was packed with people. We were the crazy ones with kids!

We took the Barcelona City Tour Bus. I have never done those before and it was awesome. We got to see the whole city in one day.

One thing to know about Barcelona is it is filled with tourists. It doesn't take away from the excitement of the city but there are soooo many! 

I absolutely loved the shopping in Barcelona. We found cute mom and pop stores in the Sagrada Familia area where the unfinished church by Gaudi is. The street Passeig de Gracia had every high end shops plus more. We stopped at a cute shop called & Other Stories. It is owned by H&M and just opened in Europe in the last year. They will be opening an online store in the US by the end of this year. It will be a rival of Anthropology. Very cute clothes, plus they have pictures of women wearing the outfits so you can actually get the idea. On the weekends there are a lot of vendors out in the streets. 

The market on Las Ramblas, La Boqueria is a place you have to visit. I was told that Barcelona is made up of 10 different villages so each village has their own market but since we were staying on Las Ramblas we had to go. John said this would be my 'go to' everyday:). The smell of the vegetables was fresh and crisp. Amazing. Since I am not a fan of fish, I just held my nose! The amount of Jamon(Ham) was crazy. Fresh juices and fruit. LOVED it!

We took the kids to the beach. Barcelonians don't like the beach there but it would do for us. Ava was fearless. She loved it. John told me the water was so cold but she did not care. Now when John Luke put his feet in, he cried!

I love Ava's excitement in this photo

One thing we terribly miss here in Scotland is Mexican food. We were told about a great Mexican food place in the Sagrada Familia area so after the kids napped we took the Metro there and it was Heaven. La Taqueria

John eating his first Paella. He said the flavor is outstanding.

There is a cultural dance called the Sardana. You should google it and read about it. Very interesting. People do it all around the Old Town. John went out one night and he said it was one of the coolest things he has seen. Hundreds of people dancing.

If you know Europe, breakfast is not what they are known for. Before we left we found a great breakfast place called Milk. It is near Las Ramblas in the Old Town part. Everything us Americans would love.

Ava and John Luke were amazing. We are so blessed to have a daughter who loves life and adventure. She loved it all. John Luke was great. He would take naps in the baby carrier and he is a boy so loves to be outside. 

We flew the budget airlines and really they were great. No problems. Jet2 has more leg room than RyanAir, but people talk so much on the planes here.

We bought these Cabin Max backpacks which were great and fit all our stuff for the couple days. 

Gaudi Unfinished church

Las Ramblas

Cute square

Old Town, Really narrow streets

Park Guell

Ava never gets tired of taking the train. We took it to the airport in Glasgow.